View from the Streets
by Knife Hand
Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU Chapter 10 up
1. Chapter 1

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

* * *

The alley was dark, and looked abandoned when the fat man entered with a bundle in his arms, looking around nervously. The alleyway was not abandoned however. There was a single occupant, huddled in the shadows, watching the man, hearing him muttering to himself as he dumped the bundle in the large dumpster and then walked away.

The figure moved out of the shadows to reveal a skinny fifteen year old girl, dressed in worn, tatty and slightly dirty clothes. She moved cautiously to the dumpster, hoping that the bundle contained food, but she found something very different. A baby, maybe a little over a year old.

Suddenly the muttering of the man made sense, in particular two phrases. 'Damn Potters' and 'Harry is such a common name'. She leaned over and lifted the baby out of the dumpster, where it began to fuss.

"Hush there Harry. I will take care of you." She said softly, rocking the baby slightly. "Think Rebecca, where can I get food for a kid this young."

Rebecca kept rocking young Harry as she walked out of the alleyway. It was a bit late but maybe the Soup Kitchen two blocks away would still be open, and have something for a baby.

* * *

Harry slipped out of the window of the library, his seven year old body contorting to fit through the narrow opening. The moon light illuminating the small side street at the back of the closed library as Harry dropped to the street and carefully looked around before moving away keeping mostly to the shadows.

Keeping to the back streets, and avoiding the area where some bullies liked to hang out, he made his way to an old warehouse. He crept through the piles of boxes and tarpaulins, the shipping containers and corrugated iron sheets. Near the back of the warehouse he pulled aside a sheet of corrugated iron to reveal a short tunnel in a row of boxes. He entered the tunnel, replacing the sheet behind him. At the end of the short tunnel, the passageway split leading into a small maze of irregular spaces and corridors made by the stacks of boxes, crates and containers. Deftly navigating his way through the maze, Harry emerged into a decent sized and comfortable, if sparse, living area.

"Mum, I'm back." Harry called out softly.

Rebecca, no longer a skinny teenager but now a young woman with long dark hair kept in a ponytail and cautious blue eyes, emerged from behind the partition that cordoned off the bathroom area from the rest of the living space and gave Harry a big, welcoming hug.

Two of the walls of the living space were actually walls of the building, one an external wall and the other, which backed the bathroom area, was an internal wet wall from which they had Jury-rigged the plumbing for the bathroom and in the other corner the small kitchen area. The other two walls were made of shipping containers and heavy boxes, with the exception of the small passageway Harry had entered by, but even that had a heavy box suspended above it ready to drop and seal off the passage. The space had a ceiling of wooden boards that crossed the space, but the walls of boxes and shipping containers extended well above the boards helping to conceal the room.

"Dinner will be ready shortly. Go wash up." Rebecca ordered.

"Yes Mum." Harry said, rushing into the bathroom to wash up.

Dinner was a meagre affair, consisting of a thin soup, cooked on a small gas camp stove, and the last of a now very stale loaf of bread. Neither Rebecca nor Harry were well fed, but nor were they starving. The last three years, since Rebecca had found this warehouse, had been rough but nothing compared to the first few years when Rebecca had to care for Harry as a toddler. Most of the time they managed to scrape by with scrounging whatever they could and the occasional visits to soup kitchens, but every now and again, when they were really desperate, Rebecca would do what was necessary to get them some money to see them through. When she had run away at age thirteen she had sworn she would never go that route, but she did not do it for herself. Harry was worth it, Harry was more than worth it.

The pair enjoyed the meagre meal, Harry telling the woman he considered his mother about all the wonderful things he had learnt at the library, and how he had outwitted the stupid bully who roamed between the library and the cinema. After dinner Harry yawned and they both made their way over to the single bundle of bedding, with Rebecca turning off the lights, again tapped into the buildings supply. She turned off the last light and then snuggled down into the bedding, wrapping her arms around Harry in a comforting hug as they both drifted off to sleep, sharing body warmth to stave off the cold.

In a small junction box the electricity meter stopped as the last light went out, recording the power usage. A power bill that, like the water bill, would be automatically paid from a trust account without anyone being aware of the value of the bill. As it had been for the last six years.

* * *

Professor McGonagall took her duties as Deputy Headmistress very seriously, and to her the most important duty was the first letter to the new intake of prospective First Year students which went out every year in the middle of July. Normally she simply supervised the process, which was done by the House Elves, reviewing and signing the letters, but this year there was at least one she wanted to do herself. This year Harry Potter was getting his letter and she owed it to his parents to make sure that it was done right so she had decided to do them all herself this year. She had, on a number of occasions over the last ten years, questioned Dumbledore on his decision to place Harry with those Muggles, but the Headmaster had assured her, time and again, that he was being taken care of and had been informed of his heritage.

She took a sip of tea and picked up the next set of papers, which happened to be Harry's and she almost choked on her tea when she saw the address the letter was to be sent to. It was most certainly not Harry's relative's place but she still recognised the address. In fact Minerva McGonagall was probably the only living Magical who knew of the address, a temporary safe house that Lily Potter had set up as an emergency bolt hole in an out of the way part of Muggle London, set up in case of an attack, one the Minerva had helped her with but that Lily never got the chance to use.

After taking a few moments to process the information she just read, Professor McGonagall acted.

"Nemo." She called, and waited for the pop of the House Elf's arrival. "I want you to finish doing the First Year letters in that pile. Have them ready for me to sign in the morning."

As Nemo nodded his head, McGonagall grabbed some floo powder and travelled to the Three Broomsticks. The pub was almost empty at this time in the evening but she was not there for the food or drinks, it was simply the closest public floo outside of the Hogwarts Wards. Striding outside, she apperated away.

* * *

Harry and Rebecca were once again sitting down to a meagre dinner. Things had gotten better in the last four years, with Rebecca finding part time work stacking shelves in a small shop and Harry running errands a few days a week for a few of the local businesses, including the baker and the butcher who paid him in day old loaves of bread and off cut meat. This work had meant they were eating better, enough that they both had put on some weight but they were still had lean bodies, and Rebecca had not had to resort to more desperate measures to get food on the table.

The dinner in front of them was a rich broth, with small chunks of meat and a few vegetables floating in it, with a half loaf of day old bread. As a treat, there was even a small chocolate cupcake for them to share afterwards, which Rebecca had worked three extra shifts in the last two weeks to be able to afford. They had just finished sharing the small cupcake when a woman appeared in the room off towards the entrance tunnel with a pop.

Both Harry and Rebecca reacted instantly, moving away from the woman with Rebecca pushing Harry behind her as she grabbed a kitchen knife while Harry drew and firmly held his own pen knife. The woman, an older lady with her hair up in a severe bun, glasses and wearing old style robes, put up her hands after placing a smooth stick on the floor beside her.

"I am not here to harm you." She said with a calm and even tone. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I was a friend of Harry's parents."

"I'm Harry's mother now." Rebecca said, defensively.

"Of course, I meant no disrespect." McGonagall said. "I simply was concerned, and somewhat surprised, when I discovered that he was here, of all places."

"What's wrong with here? Would you prefer I left him in the dumpster where I found him?" Rebecca replied, now angry.

"Again I must apologise, that is not what I meant in the least." McGonagall said. "May I sit?"

Rebecca nodded slowly and the Professor took one of the two seats at the table, Rebecca's usual seat, and Rebecca took the other, with Harry standing close behind her.

"Please allow me to explain." McGonagall said, taking a calming breath. "My surprise was two-fold. Firstly, I have been repeatedly told by someone, someone I used to trust implicitly, that young Harry was being raised and cared for by his relatives in a safe and comfortable environment. I now realise that this person never bothered to check on Harry's wellbeing and it was probably those same relatives that abandoned him. To that end I must convey my undying gratitude to you for taking care of him. Excuse my bluntness but may I ask your name?"

"Rebecca Byron." Rebecca said. "Why is that important, Professor McGonagall?"

"Oh, I just wanted to be able to update our records in regards to young Harry's guardian." McGonagall replied. "Now, back to the issue, the second reason I was surprised to find you both here is rather simple. It was young Harry's biological mother, Lily Potter, who set up this particular hiding spot, with some assistance from myself."

"Why would she need a place to hide?" Harry asked.

"It is rather a long story, but it involves a madman, a secret world and a monstrous betrayal." McGonagall began. "Would you mind if I picked up my… stick? I promise that I will in no way harm either of you, it is just easier to explain if I can give a demonstration."

Rebecca exchanged a glance with Harry and then nodded. What they saw next rocked their world to the core and the resulting conversation lasted long into the night.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was showing Rebecca and Harry though Diagon Alley, with the focus on going to Gringotts bank. Both Rebecca and Harry looked around in wonder and awe at the strange sights they saw, so when they reached the bank they were so overloaded with new sights that the Goblins of the bank seemed to be just another new experience.

"Professor McGonagall, how can we help you?" the Teller asked.

"This is Harry Potter, and his Muggle guardian, Rebecca Byron." McGonagall introduced. "I understand that Mister Potter's Trust Account Key is currently being held by the Bank."

"Of course. We will, naturally, need to confirm his identity." The Goblin Teller replied.

The process was simple, simply requiring a single drop of blood on a special parchment that did nothing more that confirm his identity. After that his Trust Fund's key was provided and another Goblin lead them down to his Trust Vault, via a rollercoaster like cart ride, to reveal piles of gold, silver and Copper coins.

"What are the conditions on the Trust Vault?" Rebecca asked.

Her father may have been an abusive asshole, but he had also been a Lawyer, so she had leant a lot about how lawyers think.

"The vault contains five hundred Galleons, six hundred Sickles and three hundred Knuts. The Trust is set up to refill to that level ever year on the 31st of July, Harry's Birthday, from the main Potter Vault." The Goblin replied. "Our records show that there has been no activity in the Trust Vault in the last ten years. The Hogwarts Tuition is taken from the main vault, which Harry will be able to access at age seventeen."

Both Harry and Rebecca turned to look at Professor McGonagall with a curious look on their faces.

"Galleons are the Gold ones, Sickles are the Silver ones, Knuts are the Copper ones." McGonagall explained. "There are 29 Knuts to a Sickle, and 17 Sickles to a Galleon."

"So it comes to just under 536 Galleons in total." Harry said, making the calculations in his head.

"What's the relative value of the coins?" Rebecca asked. "Accommodation, School supplies, that kind of thing."

"Let me think." McGonagall replied. "Harry's School supplies will be around one hundred to one hundred and fifty Galleons brand new, perhaps half to a third of that second hand. That's uniforms, books, storage trunk and various supplies. Depending on where you stay, accommodation will vary. An apartment in Hogsmeade, which is the small village just outside of Hogwarts, would be between thirty and ninety Galleons a month, depending on the size."

"Mum, that means you can get a place while I'm at school." Harry said, before turning to the Goblin. "I want mum to have full access to the Vault whenever she needs it."

"Harry." Rebecca said, warningly.

"No, mum." Harry interrupted. "I know what you had to sacrifice for me. This is as much yours as it is mine."

"That is perfectly acceptable." The Goblin said. "In fact, as Mister Potter's Muggle Guardian, you are already entitled to access the Trust Vault."

Not intending to get Harry's school supplies yet, they only took 5 Galleons, 30 sickles and 20 Knuts out of the vault as 'spending money' for the time being before leaving the bank.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

* * *

The trio were sitting in a small café, just off of Diagon Alley, where the Professor had bought a tea for herself and Rebecca and a hot chocolate for Harry.

"I feel that there are some things that you need to know before you attend Hogwarts, Harry." Professor McGonagall began.

Quickly and efficiently the Professor outlined the events behind Harry's biological parents' death. She started with how James and Lily met and went on to tell about the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, culminating with the attack on their house at Godric's Hollow. After telling of the attack, McGongall went on to tell Harry about hi fame and the stories that had been told about him, both the fictional stories published of his supposed grand adventures and the tales that Professor Dumbledore had told her of him living a happy and carefree life with his Aunt and Uncle.

"The fat bastard left him in a god damned industrial dumpster." Rebecca growled.

"Dumpster?" McGonagall asked, confused.

"A big trash can used by businesses." Harry explained.

"Oh Merlin." McGonagall breathed in abject horror.

"It's fine." Harry said. "Mum found me. Now we take care of each other."

McGonagall looked between young Harry and the woman who took care of him for a decade. It was clear to the Professor that things had been hard for the pair, and it was easy to imagine, and based on Harry's earlier comment, that the young woman had done things that she was not overly proud of in order to care for the boy.

"I think I should be clear about one thing." McGonagall said. "Hogwarts is a boarding school and under normal circumstances the students are not allowed off campus except for the school breaks. From Third Year on, with permission, they are allowed to visit Hogsmeade during the day on selected weekends."

Both Rebecca and Harry looked shocked and slightly afraid at this idea. Ever since Rebecca had first found Harry, they had not spent a single night apart, often being on their own during the day but always together in the evening.

"However, I think I might have a solution." The Professor said. "I am not just a Professor. I am Deputy Headmistress, and as such have quite a bit of authority. Provided you have a domicile in Hogsmeade, I am willing to provide an exemption to Mister Potter that would allow him to leave school grounds during the Weekend and stay with his mother."

"That would be brilliant." Harry said.

"What's the catch?" Rebecca asked, knowing that nothing in this life is free.

"Mister Potter would be required to report to me every Saturday morning before leaving the grounds and must return to me by seven am on each Monday. During the week he will not be allowed to leave the grounds and must sleep in the dorms with his Housemates." McGonagall explained.

"Why are you doing this?" Rebecca asked.

"I was friends with Mister Potter's parents and I deeply regret that I took Professor Dumbledore at his word in regards to Harry's status and never followed up." she replied honestly. "For tonight, I will take you back to the hideout, but I will return tomorrow and will assist you in finding a place to stay in Hogsmeade."

"Thank you, Professor." Rebecca said.

"My dear, you can call me Minerva." McGonagall said with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of young Harry."

* * *

Anger was seething under the surface as Minerva walked into Albus' office. While she wanted to choke the Headmaster with his own beard, she wanted to see what he would say and did not want to tip him off.

"Headmaster." She said as she entered the office. "I was just supervising the sending out of letters for our new First Years and happened to see Mister Potter's name. I was wondering how he was doing?"

This was not an unusual request from the Deputy, having asked about Harry a few times a year since the night the Headmaster had deposited the boy on the steps of his relative's house.

"He is quite fine, Minerva." The Headmaster said, looking up from his paperwork. "He is happy with his relatives and I understand he is looking forward to attending."

"That's good news." She said, just managing not to explode at the Headmaster. "So I assume you saw him just a few days ago?"

"Yes, of course." The Headmaster replied absently.

"Well, that is quite interesting." Minerva replied. "Seeing as I have just been speaking to Mister Potter and he had no idea that he was a Wizard."

"I thought we had agreed that, for Harry's safety, you would not go near his Aunt and Uncle's house." Dumbledore said, looking over his glasses at his Deputy.

"Yes we did." Minerva replied, her voice hard. "So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Harry had been living on the streets of Muggle London for the last decade after his Uncle threw him out like garbage."

"What?!" Dumbledore said, genuinely shocked.

"You have been lying to me for a decade, Headmaster." McGonagall said in a tone that brooked no argument. "I know you have plans for Harry, but forget them. I will be taking reasonability for him once he gets here. You will have no contact with him without myself and his Head of House present. If he gets sorted into Gryffindor then there will be a second Professor, of my choosing, present instead."

"But…" Dumbledore began.

"Stow it, Albus. I have enough on you to get you kicked out and you know it. The only reason I have not is that having your reputation is beneficial to the school. I handle most of the day to day running of the school anyway." Minerva cut him off. "And let your little pet, Snape, know his crap will no longer be tolerated. I have enough on him to get his pushed through the Veil."

The normally calm and controlled Witch turned and stalked out of the Office like an angry cat. Albus sat stunned for a few seconds, his quill slowly leaking ink on the parchment it had come to rest on when it had slipped from his fingers.

"Bugger." He quietly breathed.

Suddenly the office was no longer his centre of power and influence where he would shape society, but it was now a gilded cage.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was looking around the tiny apartment in Hogsmeade that Rebecca and Harry were considering. To her mind the best thing it had going for it was that it was clean. It was smaller that her personal bedroom back at Hogwarts. There was a small kitchen, with a hotplate, oven, cold-box charmed to keep food cold, a box charmed to toast bread with a few stools along the bench that doubled as the table; a small living room with a pair of chairs, a Wizarding Wireless and a small bookcase; a small bathroom with just a toilet, shower and basin; and a single bedroom with a queen sized bed and a small dresser.

"This is awesome." Harry said, staring around the tiny place in awe.

"There is only one bedroom." Minerva pointed out.

"So?" Harry said, before hurrying off to check out the bedroom again.

"We are used to sleeping together." Rebecca said with a shrug. "A necessity on the street or we would have frozen to death."

A moment latter, Harry re-emerged, a grin on his face while Minerva was still trying to process that revelation.

"Can we live here, mum?" He asked, enthusiastically.

"I don't know. It is Forty Galleons a month." Rebecca said, concerned doing the math in her head.

"We can just get second hand books and stuff." Harry said.

"Not a chance." Rebecca said. "You are getting the best education you can and that means new school gear."

"Ok, Mum." Harry said, slightly dejected thinking that they will not get the apartment.

The math was just not adding up. Taking out the maximum figure of one hundred and fifty Galleons for School Supplies from the yearly total of the Trust Account, they would be approximately eight Galleons a month short to get this apartment. Even dropping it down to the lower figure for new school supplies of one hundred Galleons, it would still be about four Galleons a month short. Ok, sure this year they could conceivably get the school supplies before the refill but they would still have that kind of expenditure for Harry each year. Rebecca was always one to think long term, that was one reason why they had lasted so long on the streets. She had seen far too many other street kids get some kind of payout or win-fall and blow it all too quickly and end up in a worse position than they started in.

"If you want, I can put in a word with Madam Rosmerta at the Three Broomstick and get you a job as a waitress." McGonagall said. "She owes me a few favours and it would not require Magic. It would probably only pay about fifteen Galleons a month."

Minerva could see both of them doing the calculations and light up at the prospect.

"I would want to speak to Madam Rosmerta before making any commitment." Rebecca said.

"Of course, Rebecca." Minerva replied. "We can go a speak to her right now, if you want."

A few minutes later found the trio entering the Three Broomsticks, which was mostly deserted at this time of day, but Madam Rosmerta was there.

"Ahh, Minerva, what can I get you?" The buxom owner asked.

"I was wondering if you had a job position available." Minerva asked.

"You're not thinking of quitting up at the Castle are you?" Rosmerta asked, in awe.

"The job is for me, Ma'am." Rebecca said. "I am a hard worker and a quick study."

"May I introduce Miss Rebecca Byron." Minerva said.

"Do you have any experience in waitressing?" Rosmerta said.

"I did some for about a year, but it was not a Magical establishment." Rebecca said.

This caused Rosmerta to look at Minerva.

"She is a Muggle." Minerva explained. "But for the last decade she has been looking out for young Mister Potter here."

"Merlin's beard." Rosmerta said. "No magic should not be too much of a problem on the day shift. I actually find that cleaning the tables and such by hand provides a cleaner surface than a cleaning charm."

"I have arranged for Mister Potter to be able to spend the weekends with his Miss Byron, as they are family." Minerva added.

Rosmerta simply nodded and looked Rebecca over, circling the younger woman a few times.

"She looks strong, maybe a bit skinny." Rosmerta said. "Ok. You can start next week. Monday to Friday, seven-thirty am to five pm. Your lunch will be provided for you when on shift. I will pay you five Galleons a week."

"Thank you." Rebecca said. "I won't let you down."

Professor McGonagall escorted them to the local Hogsmeade Gringotts branch, where they used the key to withdraw the 'first and last month' deposit for the apartment, before returning to the small apartment and sign the contract. The Professor then took them back to the warehouse and they collected the few items that had physical or sentimental value before returning to their new apartment.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

* * *

Harry awoke too warm. Rebecca's arms were around him and she was curled up against his back, but that was normal for them. No, it was the warm bed, the embracing quilt and the spells in the walls to keep the room at a pleasant temperature. Used to sleeping on makeshift bedding on the floor with only a ratty sheet over him, Harry was used to having the only source of warmth being that of Rebecca against his back and her encircling arms. A few seconds after awakening, he could feel the woman he considered his mother beginning to wake.

"So it was not a dream." Rebecca said, looking around the room.

"Good morning Mum." Harry said.

He turned in Rebecca's embrace and gave her a hug, mindless that he was snuggling against her breasts, and she tightened her grip slightly.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Rebecca asked.

"Do you think they have a public library here?" Harry asked.

"Well, there is one up at the School, but I don't think there is one in the village." Rebecca said. "And Minerva said she would come around tomorrow to take us back to Diagon to get your School Supplies."

Harry pouted slightly at this, he loved reading. It had been a kind of escape for him in the hard, brutal and hungry world of the streets. In non-fiction books he found out about how the world at large worked, having leant to survive from Rebecca. In the fiction books he found worlds to escape to. Worlds of fighter squadrons in epic space combat; or adventures with Elves, Dwarves and Ork; or stories that examined how people and societies interacted with each other.

"How about this? We go and buy some breakfast and then wander around the village. We'll visit the store and I will cook us something tasty for dinner." Rebecca said.

"Can we aff…?" Harry began before cutting himself off.

Of course they could afford it. They had a proper apartment. They had enough money to buy food. They could afford school supplies. They were rich.

* * *

Others would call the dinner that Rebecca had prepared meagre fair for two people, but for Rebecca and Harry it was a feast. It consisted of a single decent sized steak, a small pile of vegetables and some fresh bread, a meal that most would consider suitable for one person, not two. It was not the cost that was the issue, with the meat being the highest quality and the vegetables being fresh, instead it was more for reasons of nutrition, odd as that may sound. While they had not been starving, their diet had at best been a lean one even after their conditions improved with Rebecca's part time job and Harry's errands. Rebecca's plan was to slowly increase the calories that they were ingesting over the next few weeks as a way to progressively increasing their body fat back to healthy levels. They were fit and strong enough to work but had almost no excess body fat.

While a higher calorie intake would not have harmed them, Rebecca still remembered the horror tales that her Grandfather had once told when she was eleven. He had been drunk and it had been as if he was reliving his time in the War. He had been part of the 11th Armoured Division of the British Army and had been part of the force that had liberated the Nazi Concentration Camp at Bergen-Belsen. He had described the horrors he had seen of the emaciated prisoners and how one of his crew had given one of the female prisoners his rations thinking he was helping. Over the next few days the woman first developed severe abdominal cramps and then had a heart attack. The Army Doctors had eventually concluded that it was the introduction of the rations had caused the body to expend the last of its reserves of essential metals like magnesium and potassium, and impeding the delivery of oxygen to the organs. Eventually the condition was called 'Refeeding Syndrome'. The day Rebecca's grandfather's crewmate found out he was responsible for the woman's death, he had put his own revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

That story had always hovered at the back of Rebecca's mind, especially during the times when there had been almost no food. That had been why she had done what was necessary to keep Harry fed and had always made sure he had more food than she did, even when hunger was gnawing in her belly. Ever since the small bundle that had been baby Harry had come into her life, he had always come first. Until that moment she had never understood the desire to be a parent, to have to care and devote so much of your time to another, but when the had first gaze on his tiny face it had finally clicked for her.

After finishing dinner, they both washed up the dishes and Rebecca began her nightly routine of making sure that all the entrances and exits were secured. Sure she knew that this was a safe area and this kind of precautions would seem a bit extreme, but she had lived too long on the street not to take the time, and the routine had saved their lives on more than one occasion. With the routine complete, she got ready for bed, making sure that Harry had brushed his teeth, before crawling into bed and pulling him close. She was going to miss him when he was staying up at the school. In her life she had spent twelve years in a home she despised, three years alone on the street and ten looking after the young man falling asleep in her arms, and seeing how happy he had been today she would not change a single day of it. Or avoid any of the numerous scars she had acquired keeping him safe.

* * *

"You know, it is traditional to get the Wand last." McGonagall said, looking across at Rebecca.

They were walking down Diagon Alley with most of Harry's supplies in the secure trunk that they had purchased. Their first stop had been Gringotts to get out exactly one hundred and fifty Galleons. They had gotten all of Harry's supplies except for Harry's Wand and his school books and were now heading towards Ollivander's Wand shop.

"Trust me, it is better this way." Rebecca replied with a slight grin.

They entered the seemingly deserted wand shop, with Rebecca and Harry looking around cautiously.

"Ahh, Mister Potter…" a voice began out of nowhere, only to stop abruptly.

The reason the voice stopped was thanks to a pair of very sharp knives being held steadily at his throat.

"I would suggest doing away with your usual theatrics, Garrick." Minerva said. "Neither of these two are fond surprises."

"Quite." Ollivander said, taking a step back.

Both Rebecca and Harry slowly returned their knives to their hidden sheaths and looked over the old Wandmaker. Ollivander turned and went to the shelves and retrieved a long thin box.

"Let's sit." Minerva said to Rebecca. "This could take some time."

It was almost an hour later that Harry got a favourable reaction from a wand.

"Ironwood, ten inches, inflexible, the core is the Claw of Fenrir." Garrick said. "A very powerful wand."

They quickly paid and left the shop.

"That guy creeps me out." Rebecca said.

"He is a bit eccentric, but does make the best Wands around." Minerva said.

"Can we get the books now?" Harry asked, half pleading.

"Yes." Rebecca said, causing Harry to light up in a smile.

He grabbed Rebecca's hand and began half dragging the grinning woman towards the book store. Minerva simply shook her head and followed. The boy was brave enough for a Gryffindor, but he was such a bibliophile that he was perfect for Ravenclaw too.

"Hogwarts, first year?" the salesperson behind the counter said, getting a nod.

He pulled a bundle out from below the counter and told them the price. Harry looked up at Rebecca, having been too excited to keep track of their spending.

"Eleven Galleons, nine Sickles and fourteen Knuts." Rebecca said.

Harry nodded and disappeared back into the stacks.

"How many extra books do you think he will get?" Minerva asked.

"As many as he can for exactly eleven Galleons, nine Sickles and fourteen Knuts." Rebecca replied.

A few minutes later Harry's head popped around one of the book shelves and he looked at Minerva.

"Professor, do they have a bargain bin?" Harry asked.

"Third row, down the back on the right." Minerva replied.

Harry dashed off again.

* * *

"Are you going to be alright?" Rebecca asked.

They had just finished breakfast and she was dressed in the 'uniform' that Madam Rosmerta had provided, which consisted of regular Wizarding Robes with the crest of the Three Broomsticks on the breast. It was her first day working at the Three Broomsticks and she was slightly nervous. She just hoped that there were no bizarre tasks that she could not perform without Magic, despite Madam Rosmerta's assurances. She also, as always, was worried about Harry.

"I'll be fine, mum." Harry replied. "This morning I am planning on reading and I though this afternoon I would go for a jog around the village."

Rebecca nodded and left the apartment, listening for a second to ensure that Harry locked the door after her. She made her way along the street, getting a few absent nods from other Villagers. She entered the pub to find Madam Rosmerta waiting for her.

"A few minutes early." Rosmerta said. "That's good."

Rebecca simply stood and waited for instructions from the Inn owner.

"Mostly your duties will be cleaning up. The tables and bar down here are to be kept clean. There are rooms for rent and private dining rooms upstairs. You will have no duties upstairs unless I specifically direct you. During lunch service you will take orders and deliver plates. I will give you the menu to memorise." Rosmerta ordered.

"Of course." Rebecca replied.

She looked around the room and found it fairly clean, but she noticed a few areas that would not have been up to the standard of her old employer six years ago.

"Come on." Rosmerta said. "I'll get you the menu to memorise and introduce you to the rest of the staff."

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

* * *

Rebecca was using the excuse of cleaning the dishes from the 'table' to hide her actions from Harry as he was sitting on one of the stools at the counter. Surreptitiously, she pulled out a small package from the cold-box and unwrapped it on a plate.

"Happy Birthday, Harry." She said, turning to reveal a small chocolate cupcake.

For Rebecca and Harry, the chocolate cupcake was not a simple desert, it was a symbol. It had been so rare for them to be able to afford anything besides the bare necessities that whenever they had enough to buy a treat it was always a simple chocolate cupcake for them to share. To them it symbolised every event that was worth remembering or celebrating. The cupcake that they had eaten on the day Professor McGonagall had appeared had been their first in eighteen months, and before that it had been almost two years since they had been able to afford it.

There were no candles or presents, none of the usual trappings that most people would associate with a birthday or other celebration; it was simply Rebecca, Harry and the knowledge that this meant something to the two of them.

"Your turn to cut it." Rebecca said, handing Harry a kitchen knife.

Harry took the knife with a dash of pride. The cupcakes had always been so rare and precious that Rebecca had never before let Harry cut them. Harry always assumed it was because he might cut it wrong and waste some of the precious cake, but it had been Rebecca's way of insuring that Harry had gotten the larger share, admittedly not significantly larger given the small size of the cupcake, but still. Harry leaned over the cupcake with the knife in his hand and, as carefully as he could, sliced the small cake down the middle. The treat was slowly eaten and well savoured by the pair. Many would think it silly, the importance and reverence that they placed on one small item of food, but to Rebecca and Harry it was a reminder that even though there were bad times behind them, and potentially bad times ahead, for the moment they had enough to enjoy a treat.

* * *

Throughout August, Harry and Rebecca quickly established a routine for life around Hogsmeade Village. Harry had met a few other children who lived in the village, most were a few years older or a few years younger than him and he mostly kept to himself, but was finding some enjoyment, on occasion, in interacting with other children where they were not either looking to use him for something or a direct threat to his survival. On a few occasions Harry had spent some time at the Three Broomsticks while Rebecca worked. He knew enough not to disturb her or expect her to pay much attention to him, instead he busied himself with either learning to play the few board games that the pub maintained or reading the catalogue of back issues of the Magical Newspaper called the Daily Prophet to try and get a feel for the Magical World.

Rebecca, on the other hand, had been embraced by the other staff at the Three Broomsticks. As she had promised Madam Rosmerta, she was a hard worker and never complained about her workload. Wilhelm, the day cook, had taken it upon himself to look out for her, not that she really needed it, and on a few occasions she had spent some 'down time' with a few of the other girls, who occasionally grumbled that she was too damn good at cleaning by hand but were generally friendly. Mostly though, Rebecca did her job and spent her down time with Harry rather than socialising. August was almost over when Rebecca, for the first time in the just over a month she had been there, approached Madam Rosmerta.

"Boss, can I have a word?" Rebecca asked the owner.

Lunch service had long since finish and the area of the pub that was Rebecca's responsibility was immaculately clean.

"Of course." Rosmerta said, leading Rebecca into a small office the own kept for doing the books. "What did you need to talk about?"

"I was wondering if, on the first, I could take my lunch break from ten-thirty to eleven-thirty, instead of after the lunch service?" Rebecca asked with some trepidation. "I would like to be able to see Harry onto the Hogwarts Express."

A few weeks earlier, Professor McGonagall had explained about the tradition of students coming to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express, and how it was a kind of right of passage for the first years. There had been some discussion on how Harry would get to the train which left from London, and they had discussed Portkeys and Floo Powder. After some testing, it was revealed that Rebecca was able to use the Floo network and so the plan was for them to Floo directly to platform 9 ¾ and then for Rebecca to Floo back to Hogsmeade. This method was the safest option and would mean that Rebecca was not affected by the Anti-Muggle wards on the village or on the entrance to the platform itself, which acted like a fence to keep Muggles out, but did not affect any Muggle inside the Wards themselves.

"Rebecca, my dear, I did not have you scheduled to work at all on the First. Every parent who has a child going to Hogwarts is always given the first as paid day off." Madam Rosmerta replied.

This floored Rebecca. Sure, Madam Rosmerta had been good to her, but from her experience she was expecting to have to work at least one extra shift for no pay in order to get her lunch hour moved, or it being flat out refused.

"I appreciate that, boss." Rebecca replied. "But if it's all the same to you, I will still come in for the afternoon, once I get back from London."

"Rebecca, I am still going to pay you, so why not take the whole day off?" Rosmerta asked.

"It's going to be hard enough without Harry there in the evenings, I don't fancy sitting around the apartment by myself all afternoon." Rebecca replied.

"If that's what you want." Rosmerta replied. "You know I appreciate how hard you work."

"I better get back to it, boss." Rebecca said.

Rosmerta watched Rebecca walk back out to her section of the floor and, grabbing some supplies from the cleaning cabinet, began to polish the legs of one of the tables. Rosmerta wished her other employees were half as dedicated as Rebecca was. On one occasion two of the other girls had called in sick and Rebecca had been forced to cover the entire lunch time service with just Rosmerta helping. The young woman had been run off her feet and Rosmerta had sent her home at the end of her shift with an ointment to deal with the swelling from the twisted ankle the young woman had received when a thoughtless patron had slammed his chair back as she passed. Rebecca had not only kept the large tray of dirty plates she had been carrying from crashing to the floor but had limped through the remaining hour of service without complaint.

Rosmerta was calculating in her mind just how big to make the Christmas bonus that Rebecca was going to receive.

* * *

Professor McGonagall looked over the three other Heads of House as they sat in the staff room. Professor Sprout, a short and dumpy witch, had her usual friendly disposition. Diminutive Professor Flitwick had a slight smile on his face as he sat in his chair, which he had charmed to float a few inches of the floor so that he could look his colleagues in the eye. Professor Snape had his usual sullen expression.

"Alright, let's get started." McGonagall said.

"Should we not wait for the Headmaster?" Snape asked.

"Albus will not be coming." McGonagall replied. "An in a moment you will find out why. I called this meeting to discuss how we are going to deal with Mister Potter when he arrives."

"Why is the pampered little celebrity getting special treatment?" Snape sneered.

"I assume all of you, like myself, have been told by the Headmaster that Mister Potter has been happily and comfortably living with his relatives at a secure location?" Minerva asked, getting nods from the other Professors. "This is a lie."

"Surely the Headmaster would not lie to us." Professor Sprout said.

"I'm sure the Headmaster assumed that events with Mister Potter were going as he envisioned them, thus he never bothered to check." Minerva replied. "The truth is far worse, I am afraid. The morning after Albus left young Harry at the doorstep of his relatives, his Uncle decided that they would not keep him and threw him out with the trash. If it was not for the actions of one remarkable young girl, Harry Potter would have died that day."

Minerva spent the next hour and a half outlining the broad strokes of the life that Harry had lived. By the end even Snape was outraged at Professor Dumbledore. The Potions Master would not have wished such a life on his bitterest enemies, James Potter and Sirius Black included, but to have the son of his beloved Lily treated in such a way was simply… intolerable.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

A/N: I have had a number of reviews asking if Harry in this story had glasses. No he does not. It is my opinion that in all likelihood it was the poor living conditions during Harry's development years from living in a cupboard that caused his poor eyesight, exacerbated by the Dursley's purposely buying the cheapest glasses regardless of matching prescriptions to his eyesight that ruined his eyesight over a genetic condition, particularly when JK emphasises how Harry is supposed to have Lily's eyes. That being said, if Harry had required glasses, then Rebecca would have done ANYTHING, up to and including selling a kidney or anything else, to ensure he received them.

* * *

Harry stumbled out of the Floo fireplace, only to be caught by Rebecca who had come through moments before. The platform was crowded with parents and children and Rebecca moved towards the train with Harry keeping close behind. A few of the Witches and Wizards gave Rebecca a wave as they passed, recognising her from the Three Broomsticks. As they reached the one of the doors on the old style steam train, they wrapped each other in an embracing hug. Several other parents around them were hugging their children but, unlike Harry, those children were squirming and trying to escape from the hug.

"Stay alert; know your exits and I'll see you on Saturday." Rebecca whispered into Harry's ear.

Harry nodded and they lifted his trunk onto the train. Rebecca took a step back and wiped a tear from her cheek as she let more students board the train. On board the train, Harry stepped to the side so that the other students could pass him and stood there watching Rebecca on the platform, as she was watching him, until the train pulled out and he lost view of his mother. Soon the view of the platform was replaced by the streaking view of the suburbs around Kings Cross station, and Harry turned away from the window and picked up the handle to his trunk to find a cabin to sit in. He worked his way through the train till he came across a cabin with a single occupant, a girl who looked about Harry's own age with Asian features who was reading a book. When he opened the door, he gave her an inquiring look, to which she indicated to the seat opposite her. Closing the door behind him, Harry took the indicated seat and pulled out a novel to read as the girl went back to her own book. Opening the book to the marked page, he resumed reading about aliens hunting humans for sport and the humans fighting a guerrilla war in retaliation. How a copy of the classic Sci-fi novel 'Come Hunt an Earthman' ended up in the bargain bin at Flourish and Blotts was beyond Harry, but he was glad it had been.

* * *

Harry stepped off the train onto Hogsmeade Station, before turning to offer his hand to Su to help her down the large step. It had been over an hour into the trip when they had exchanged named. The girl had introduced herself as Su Li and Harry, having read a lot about Asian, and in particular Chinese, culture called her Miss Su. She had laughed and explained that she had switched her name to the Western tradition of given name then surname to avoid confusion at Hogwarts. Harry had then declared that, in formal situations, he would address her as Li Su, which had again gotten a trill of a laugh, a sound that had suddenly become one of Harry's favourite sounds, right behind the voice of his mum.

"First Years, this way." A booming voice said from down the end of the platform.

Harry and Su turned towards the voice to see a wild haired and beared man towering over the students on the platform. Su said something that was smooth and flowing but Harry did not understand.

"Was that Mandarin?" Harry asked, to which Su nodded. "Teach me, sometime?"

"We will see." Su replied with a slight smile.

"No harm in asking." Harry said with a shrug.

They moved through the crowd of students quickly, Harry having long since developed the ability to spot where gaps were going to form in a crowd. Soon enough all of the First Years were gathered in a big group around the large man who introduced himself as Hagrid and were soon lead down to the edge of the lake and a fleet of small boats.

"No more than four to a boat." Hagrid called out.

Harry and Su climbed into a boat, with Harry offering a hand to assist Su in, and were joined by a girl who introduced herself as Tracey Davis and a boy called Wayne Hopkins. When Su introduced herself, neither of the other two made any comment, or even seemed to be aware of the Chinese tradition of surname first given name second. With a wave of Hagrid's Umbrella, of all things, the boats moved out into the lake and revealed the expanse of Hogwarts on the far side of the lake lit by light thrown from thousands of windows.

Harry's first thought was 'wow', his second was 'exploring that is going to be fun'. Glancing across at Su he saw the awe on her face and a grin appeared on his face.

* * *

Minerva took over the escort of the First Years from Hagrid and led them to the anteroom where she left them to wait as she re-entered the Great Hall and set up the stool and the Storing Hat and making sure that the Hall was ready for the First Years. Returning to the anteroom, she saw something she had never seen in all her years escorting First Years for Sorting.

Harry was standing confronting another student who, based on the platinum blond slicked back hair, was Mister Malfoy. Malfoy was standing with his back to the wall and had a scared look on his face while Harry had his left forearm across Malfoy's chest, pinning him to the wall, and one of Harry's ubiquitous knives at the other boy's throat. Another heavy set boy was slumped against the wall while a third, as bulky as the second, was being stared down by a petite Asian girl. The rest of the students were a few feet away in a cluster.

"Mister Potter." Minerva said. "What did we agree upon last week?"

"No killing without talking to you first." Harry said, with a slightly guilty expression.

"Yes, now please let Mister Malfoy free." Minerva commanded.

Harry took a step back and the knife vanished up a sleeve or into some other hidden sheath. Malfoy pushed himself off the wall and fixed the fall of his robes as a sneer began to grace his face.

"Wait until my father hears about this." Malfoy said.

"Mister Malfoy." Minerva said sternly. "I happen to know that Mister Potter would not have reacted in such a way unless he was directly threatened, and I know a hell of a lot more about his history than you do. Let this be a lesson to you all. Make no assumptions about the backgrounds of any of your classmates or schoolmates."

For a moment Minerva hoped that young Mister Malfoy did complain to his father, as it would give her a chance to rip into the elder Malfoy. She turned and opened the doors to the Great Hall.

"Come on." Minerva said.

Harry and Su were the first to follow the Professor with the rest following a second later.

* * *

Harry was watching the Sorting of the others, trying to get a feel for his classmates and the general outlooks of the different Houses. Malfoy and his goons were sorted into Slytherin, as was Tracey Davis who shared the boat with him and Su. Wayne Hopkins, who also shared the boat, ended up in Hufflepuff. Su was sorted into Ravenclaw. There were a few others who made an impression on Harry as they were sorted. One was a girl called Hermione who seemed to want to show off her knowledge and seemed like a perfect candidate for Ravenclaw, but she was sorted into Gryffindor. There was also a pair of Indian Identical Twins who remarkably got sorted into different Houses, one into Gryffindor and the other into Ravenclaw. Finally it was Harry's turn and he walked up to the stool and the Sorting Hat was put on his head.

"Difficult. Very difficult." A voice sounded inside his head.

"Why am I difficult to sort?" Harry asked, silently.

"In some ways you are suited to all four Houses; in others you are not suited to any of them." The Hat replied. "You are exceptionally brave, but only when you have to be, as opposed to the overt bravery of the Gryffindors. You thirst for knowledge, but not for the sake of knowledge itself, like most Ravenclaws, but as a means of protection or escape. You are very cunning, but again only for survival, and you have no great ambition, the latter of which is the dominant trait in Slytherin these days. Also you would probably kill half that House anyway as they will surely piss you off. As for Hufflepuff, you are fiercely loyal, but only towards those you really care about rather than an ideal or a community."

"So what are we going to do then?" Harry asked the Hat. "Has this kind of thing ever happened before?"

"Very rarely." The Hat replied. "You are quite a unique individual, Harry."

"So, what's the solution then?" Harry asked.

"I will put you where you can do the most good, or the least damage." The Hat replied. "Slytherin is out, for obvious reasons. While you could do some interesting things in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, you will be best suited to…"

"Ravenclaw!" the Hat announced to the entire Hall.

Harry smiled as he took off the Hat and went over to the Ravenclaw table where he sat between Su and the Indian Twin called Padma.

"So, will you teach me Mandarin?" Harry asked Su.

"Only if you show me that flourish you did with the knife." Su replied.

Harry and Su chuckled and Padma rolled her eyes as the other students nearby looked at them with confusion and a bit of fear, which caused the pair to break out in a full blown laugh.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

* * *

Rebecca closed the door to the apartment behind her and locked it. With a sigh, she dropped down onto one of the chairs in the small living room. It was the first time she had come home from work to find Harry not there. It was hard, he had been the focus of her life for so long. After a minute, she pulled herself to her feet, turned on the Wizarding Wireless and moved to the kitchen to prepare something for herself for dinner. A part of Rebecca was waiting for the world to fall out from beneath her feet, as it had so many times before. Getting fired, getting evicted, getting Harry's permission to come home on weekends revoked. Another part of her though felt that Harry not being with here; right here, right now; was having the world pulled out from under her anyway. Even after a month and a half, it was still hard to believe that things really had changed for the better.

Rebecca looked down and saw that her dinner plate was empty. That, in and of itself, amazed her. For so long, food had been such an important focus of her life, of Harry and her survival, and here she was having been so lost in thought that she did not notice her meal. Still marvelling over how careless she had gotten in regards to food, Rebecca spent a few hours reading some of the Wizarding Culture books that Harry had picked up in his little spending spree at the bookshop. It always paid to learn as much about the lay of the land as possible. When she finally went to bed, she was unable to get to sleep for long time, missing the feel of Harry curled up against her. At least she could remember what it was like to sleep alone. Harry had no experience with that.

* * *

It was three am and the Ravenclaw dorm room was silent, except for the soft sound of one student tossing and turning. With a soft sigh of exacerbation, the student threw off the covers and got out of the bed, slipping their feet into a pair of slippers beside the bed to protect them from the cold floor. Their footsteps were almost silent as they slipped out of the room and made their way down to the common room. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs when they saw another student sitting on one of the couches near the low burning fire.

"Potter." Padma said in shock from her position by the stairs.

"Patil." Harry said from the couch.

Padma walked over to the couch and sat down next to Harry, noticing just how exhausted he looked, figuring that she looked just as bad as he did.

"So, who is it with you?" she asked.

"My mum." Harry said. "Not biological of course. You?"

"My twin sister." Padma replied. "She never felt the need as much as I did."

Harry simply nodded. Both of them were so used to sleeping with someone else cuddled up against them that they had trouble sleeping alone. Without a word, they leant against each other and closed their eyes, not sure if they could sleep but at least able to relax with someone else beside them.

* * *

Harry was awoken by a strong pull on his arm, drawing him out of a warm embrace.

"What are you doing, you little shit!" a voice screamed.

A lifetime of instincts kicked in immediately and Harry reacted.

"Mum, run!" he called out, as he propelled himself into the attack.

Using the momentum of the pull on his arm, Harry propelled himself forward and drove a knee into his attacker's gut. The knee caused the assailant to let go and Harry took a step back and drew one of his knives. It was only then that he really registered where he was. He was not back living on the streets, he was in the Ravenclaw Common Room, and it was not his mum who had been holding him as he slept, it was Padma Patil. In front of him was the Seventh Year male Prefect, bent over and gasping for breath as Harry's knee had knocked the wind out of him, and a number of other students were gathered around staring in shock.

"What is going on here?" A commanding voice said from entrance to the Dorm.

Standing at the door was the diminutive, but somehow still imposing, form of Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House.

"Potter just attacked Willis." One voice said from the crowd.

"He attacked first." Harry said. "Pulled at my arm while I was asleep."

Flitwick turned and stared at the Seventh Year female Prefect, who was assisting the now named Willis to stand.

"Miss Harding?" The Professor asked.

"Potter and Patil were found in an… inappropriate position. Willis tried to remove Potter from the couch when Potter attacked." The Seventh Year Female Prefect, Harding, replied.

Professor Flitwick simply stood there shaking his head.

"I expected more of the House of Ravenclaw than to solve situations physically. Mister Willis, I am deeply disappointed in you." Flitwick said.

"You're disappointed at Willis? What about Potter?" A third year asked.

"Were none of you listening last night?" Su asked, emerging from the back of crowd.

"What do you mean, Miss Li?" Flitwick asked.

"She means," one of the First Years began, "That we told them all what happened between Potter and Malfoy in the waiting room and they still thought it was a good idea to manhandle Potter."

"Honestly." Padma said. "What does it tell you when the Deputy Headmistress had as standing order for Potter to talk to her before killing anyone?"

A lot of the Ravenclaws went pale at that reminder. Sure they had heard the story the night before, but they had dismissed it as the usual First Year nonsense.

"Miss Harding, escort Mister Willis to the infirmary. Mister Potter, Miss Patil, follow me please." Flitwick said before turning and leaving the Common Room.

Flitwick lead them through the corridors to Professor McGonagall's office, knocking on the door and escorting them inside when the curt 'come' was heard.

"Mister Potter." McGonagall said, looking over the rim of her glasses. "Are you trying to compete with the Weasley Twins for the most troublesome student? Even they have not had two incidents within fourteen hours of arriving. What happened?"

"Mister Willis has been taken to the Infirmary. He made the mistake of physically waking Mister Potter." Flitwick said.

"And why would he do that?" McGonagall asked.

"Because he found Mister Potter and Miss Patil here, I believe the term is spooning, on a couch in the Common Room." Flitwick replied.

McGonagall took off her glasses and began to rub her eyes.

"Why, Mister Potter?" she asked, not looking up.

"Can't sleep alone. You know that, Professor." Harry replied.

"And you, Miss Patil?" McGonagall continued, turning her attention to the female student.

"I don't sleep well alone." Padma replied. "Always slept in the same bed as Parvarti back at home."

"Of course." Minerva said, throwing up her hands. "What's next? A herd of rampaging Hippogriffs invading the Hufflepuff common room?"

There was a loud knock at the door.

"Merlin's sake, I was kidding." Minerva grumbled to herself. "Come!"

Professor Sprout entered the room alone, and relatively calmly.

"No Hippogriffs?" Harry asked.

"Excuse me?" Sprout asked. "Never mind. I just got word that Lucius Malfoy will be here in half an hour, and he is not in a good mood."

"Good." Minerva said with a predatory grin. "Filius, please arrange for one of the Ravenclaw Head Boy/Head Girl rooms to be opened and allow Mister Potter and Miss Patil to move in there."

"Of course." Flitwick replied. "And I will explain some of Mister Potter's situation to the rest of the House."

"Pomona, please escort Lucius in when he gets here. I have a few things to discuss with him." Minerva continued as Flitwick, Harry and Padma turned and left.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

* * *

Professor Sprout showed Lucius Malfoy into Minerva's office and then quietly left. This was a ploy on Minerva's part as she knew that Pomona was an unassuming seeming Witch and it would disarm Malfoy into thinking nothing is wrong and thus not notice where he was being lead.

"Where is Headmaster Dumbledore?" Malfoy said, his voice smooth and his expression condescending.

"Ahh, Mister Malfoy." Minerva said, looking up from the paperwork on her desk. "I'm afraid that the Headmaster will not be joining us. Matters of student discipline are my concern."

For a moment the expression on Lucius' face faltered before the mask was back in place.

"I am sure you are aware that I am a member of the Board of Governors. In that capacity I demand to speak to the Headmaster." Lucius replied smugly.

Minerva struggled to contain a grin. She knew why Lucius wanted to speak to Albus, with the Headmaster's long stand personal policy that everyone can be redeemed and given fifty-sixth chances. Minerva was no where near as lenient as Albus and Lucius was sure that he could make the Headmaster sweep any wrongdoing of Draco's under the rug.

"Mister Malfoy," Minerva began, using her stern teaching voice, causing the Blond haired man to flash back to when he was her student. "How familiar are you with the Hogwarts Charter?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lucius asked.

"Quite a bit actually, seeing as you are trying to demand privileges as a Governor." Minerva replied. "Privileges you are in no way entitled to."

"Now see here…." Lucius began, only to be cut off.

"The Board of Governors, under the Hogwarts Charter, have exactly three powers." Minerva interrupted. "The first power is the ratification or rejection of a proposed Headmaster. The second power is the decision on if a Headmaster should be suspended based on complaints filed by no less than three standing Professors, one of which must be a Head of House or the Deputy. The final power the Board has is the ratification or rejection of a request to increase the school budget."

She gave Lucius a moment to process this information before she continued.

"The Board does not have the authority to dictate what classes may be taught, or to reduce the budget of the school, or interfere in any way with the internal polices or discipline of the school. The charter clearly outlines that any Board member, or Board as a collective, who exceeds its authority can be censured by dismissal from the Board; disqualification for any Board or staff position for the rest of their lives and potentially substantial fines."

Lucius was decidedly pale, even for him, by this stage as he was guilty of all of the prohibitions that Minerva had just listed, including skimming quite a bit off of the Hogwarts Budget into his own coffers.

"Now, if the illegal Board Decrees are repealed and the withheld portions of the budget for the last nine years are paid immediately to the school, then no further actions in regards to the current constitution of the Board of Governors will be required at this time." Minerva finished with a stern expression.

"I will follow up on these… irregularities at the next Board meeting." Lucius said, sounding as if he was getting his teeth pulled.

"Good. I understand the Board is meeting this Thursday, so I will expect this to be completely sorted by Friday then." Minerva said. "And now, on to the matter regarding your son. Can you please explain, in your capacity as a parent, why Draco thought it was acceptable to threaten another student with, and I quote, 'waking up to find their traitorous blood spilling from their scrawny little necks'? End quote."

Suddenly, if a bit irrelevantly, Lucius found himself wondering how many weeks of detention the Professor was going to assign him, before he realised that he was no longer a student and the woman in front of him could do a hell of a lot worse to him than put him in detention.

* * *

"Hey Potter!" Draco Malfoy called out as Harry, Su and Padma were entering the Great Hall for breakfast. "You all packed to go home? My father is going to make sure that Dumbledore expels you for what you did to me."

"Actually, Malfoy, you father is already here." Harry replied calmly. "But it's not Professor Dumbledore who is going to see him. It's Professor McGonagall, and she seemed to be looking forward to the meeting. Last time I saw that expression on someone, the person they were going to meet was found four days later dead in the Thames."

With that Draco's eyes went wide and he retreated to the Slytherin table while Harry and the girls made their way towards the Ravenclaw table. As they approached the Ravenclaw table the two Seventh Year Prefects approached them.

"Potter, I just wanted to apologise." Willis said. "I overreacted this morning. Professor Flitwick explained some things to the House. You won't have any more trouble."

After that Willis turned and sat down at the table. Harding turned and watched Willis go before turning back to Harry, Su and Padma.

"We understand you a bit better now, so I think it is only fair that you can understand Willis too." Harding said, taking a breath before going on. "Willis had an older sister who was sorted into Slytherin. Bad things happened and she ended up committing suicide. When he saw you two on that couch, I guess he flashed back to his sister and snapped."

With that Harding turned and joined Willis at the table amongst the Seventh Years while Harry, Su and Padma went and joined the First Years at the other end of the table. While the others were digging into big breakfasts, Harry only took two pieces of toast and a few small sections of fruit. Breakfast had never been a huge thing for Harry and he always felt full well before eating even a quarter of what some of the others ate. Breakfast was starting to wind down when Professor McGonagall entered the hall, accompanied by what could only be Malfoy's father. Malfoy senior indicated that Draco should join him outside. The elder Malfoy looked pale and worried while the younger one simply looked scared at the elder's expression.

"Looks like Malfoy took your exaggerated story to heart." Padma said.

"What exaggeration?" Harry asked.

"The body in the Thames." Padma replied. "A nice touch to scare him.

"That was not an exaggeration." Harry replied. "I saw that expression on Betsy's face just before she met up with Timmy and Timmy was found four days later in the river. Betsy probably garrotted him but the body was too mangled to tell for sure, as it got caught in a ship's propeller. Betsy was always a bit volatile and Timmy, well he was never going to survive long. He could not tell those people you really don't want to piss off."

"Damn." Padma said, before turning to Su. "Doesn't this bother you?"

Su had been calmly sitting listening to Harry's tale.

"Why do you think my family came to England?" Su asked, her voice level but had a hard edge, to which Padma gave a shrug. "A magical Pogrom. Four hundred thousand Magical Chinese killed by the Communist Regime. My parents met in the evacuation camp in Switzerland before they came to England. They were both the only survivors in their families."

"Oh Merlin." Padma breathed in horror. "Why did we not hear anything about this?"

"The Statute of Secrecy works both ways." Su said. "When no one knows about you, then no one knows when you are gone."

"They called us on the streets the forgotten people." Harry said. "The invisibles. The ones no one wanted to talk about, or see."

"Well," Padma said with indignation. "I say we make them remember. Make sure they will never forget."

"Give her a few days and she'll settle down." Su whispered to Harry, who nodded back.

Padma was a friend, sort of, so she had a right to be angry he supposed, but she did not know about what it was like to go through the things he had, or Su had. Once she calmed down they would get her Ravenclaw mind looking at the problem logically and prevent her doing anything that would make things worse.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

A/N: I have had some reviews asking what happened to Su herself as the Pogrom happened before she was born. That is true, but seeing a massacre like that leaves scars on a person that changes the whole rest of their life, and impacts on both the relationships and things they teach to their children. A lot of the survivors will never, or rarely, talk about what happened but the shadow of the event will still hang over them and their loved ones. This is the kind of environment that Su was raised in, with this unspoken weight hanging over her. That is why she can relate to Harry.

* * *

Harry, Su and Padma walked into the Ravenclaw Common Room after dinner. Their first day classes had been mostly interesting. It had started with Charms class, with Professor Flitwick who showed them how to feel their magic flow through their wands; then there was Herbology with Professor Sprout and finally the intensely boring History of Magic with the Ghost Professor Binns. Interestingly all of the classes had been with Hufflepuff, as were most of their classes for some reason.

Professor Flitwick was waiting for Harry and Padma in the Common Room and led them to a portrait in one corner of the room which he opened with a password, which led into a small corridor with a door on either side. Next to each door was a circular hole.

"In a moment, I need each of you to place your wands into the hole next to the door and push your magic through your wand, like I showed you today, in order to key you both to the room." Flitwick said.

Then the Professor cast a spell and first Padma and then Harry placed their wands into the hole and pushed their magic into their wands until the hole glowed. Once that was done, Flitwick cast another quick spell.

"Ok, now only the two of you will be able to open the door now. Apart from myself, of course." Flitwick said. "The door will only open if one of you places your own wand in the slot and push your magic like you just did."

Padma, with an encouraging nod from Harry, stepped forward and opened the door. Inside was a suite of rooms almost as large as the Apartment Harry and Rebecca had rented in Hogsmeade. The majority of the space was a combination of a bedroom and living room, with a queen sized bed, a dresser, a couch and a single reading chair. There was also a reasonably large bathroom, which had a toilet, a shower, a bath and a basin. The final room in the suite was the study, which had an old style hutched writing desk and chair, with a full set of ink, blotting paper and quills in the hutch section. Both of their trunks had been moved to the bottom of the bed.

"While you are both assigned to this room, I expect some modicum of discretion in regards to the usage of the bathroom." Professor Flitwick said.

"We understand, Professor." Harry replied.

His mum had always tried to keep privacy around the bathroom area, even when everywhere else was shared.

"Are we allowed to bring others in here?" Padma asked.

"If you wish." The Professor replied. "But remember that only one of you two can open the door to get in. I would also recommend that the password to this area remain restricted to those you trust."

With that Professor Flitwick left them and they began looking around the suite. After a minute, Harry left the suite and went to fetch Su form the Common Room. He soon returned with her and they lounged in the bedroom/living room, with Harry and Su on the couch and Padma in the reading chair.

"Nice." Su commented.

"Yeah. I guess it pays to be head boy or girl." Harry said.

The three of them, being Ravenclaws, soon began working as a group on the small amount of Homework that had been issued to them. They worked for twenty minutes and then began studying topics that both Professors Sprout and Flitwick had indicated would be coming up in the next few weeks. After an hour of study, they were all getting tired and Su exited to go back to the main Ravenclaw Dorms.

"Do you want use the bathroom first?" Harry asked.

Padma just nodded and, getting a few items out of her trunk, she disappeared into the bathroom while Harry pulled out a novel and sat in the reading chair. When the door to the bathroom opened, Harry looked up, marked his place in the book and, gathering his gear, went for his own shower. Padma was blushing slightly as he passed, as she was dressed in a simple, reasonably light, nightdress. With quick and efficient motions, born of inconsistent and often improvised bathroom facilities, Harry showered; dressed in his night clothes of a pair of track suit pants and a t-shirt; and brushed his teeth before returning to the main room.

Both Harry and Padma were a bit embarrassed by their state of dress. The previous night Harry had been in his school uniform, sans tie and robe, and Padma had a thick dressing gown over her night dress. They quickly settled into the single, large bed, where Harry rolled onto his side and Padma snuggled up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, as she always had her sister. It was fortunate that Padma was a hugger while Harry was used to being hugged while he slept. They way Padma held Harry was different to the way Rebecca held him but he still took comfort in the feeling of her being close.

* * *

Rosmerta looked at the clock and then over at Rebecca who was carrying a tray full of dirty dishes back to the kitchen. It was eight pm, three hours after Rebecca's shift had ended, but there had been a rush of customers that started around four and had not let up until about ten minutes ago. The tray of dishes Rebecca was carrying was the last of the dirty dishes to be washed up. Most of the day shift of waitresses had left at about five thirty, and the evening shift waitressed, who had started at about four thirty, were sitting down and complaining about how hard they had worked. Rebecca, on the other hand, had just kept working like always.

"Rebecca." Rosmerta called. "Grab your things. Time to go. Mary, you're in charge."

"Yes Boss." Mary, who managed the place when Rosmerta was not there, said.

Rosmerta and Rebecca both walked out of the Three Broomsticks and paused to look up at the clear night's sky full of stars.

"I want to thank you for staying." Rosmerta said after a long pause. "You know you did not have to."

"You needed the help." Rebecca said. "And besides, without Harry around I am at a bit of a loose end just sitting at the apartment. I mean the place is great and all, but…"

"You miss him." Rosmerta finished. "I hear it all the time from parents. I know it is different for you with everything you went through with Harry."

"At least I get to see him on weekends." Rebecca replied.

"It must be bittersweet." Rosmerta replied. "It's something I will never know."

She did not talk about it often, or much at all, but when Jennifer Rosmerta had just graduated from Hogwarts she had gotten pregnant from a one night stand. Four months later she had miscarried, but there had been complications. Magic is a wonderful thing and can heal a great number of maladies, but it could not bring life back to ground made barren.

"Come on, I'll take you out for a good meal, my treat." Rosmerta said after a moment. "Part repayment for all your hard work today."

"You don't have to do that, Boss." Rebecca said.

"We're not at work, Rebecca. Call me Jennifer." The older woman said. "Let me do this for you. And I will be paying you overtime."

Rebecca seemed to hesitate for a moment. Rosmerta looked across at the young woman with so much strength who was also so vulnerable. Professor McGonagall had told her what Rebecca had undergone, the kind of life the younger woman had lead.

"This is a thank you, Rebecca. Accept it or not, it will not affect your position at work." She said.

"Ok." Rebecca said after a moment. "It's just in my experience, everyone expects something for any act of kindness."

"Well not me." Jennifer replied. "You do more than I ever ask for at work and I appreciate it. Anything you need, just ask. I can't promise that I will say yes, but I will listen and will not demand anything in return. I may set conditions, like trading shifts or something, but I promise I will always let you know up front and, most times, will be willing to negotiate. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, Boss." Rebecca replied, then saw the look that Rosmerta gave her. "I mean Jennifer."

Rosmerta simply nodded. They spent the next few hours together, having a nice dinner at one of the better restaurants in Hogsmead and just chatting, though admittedly it was mostly Jennifer who held up the conversation as Rebecca was not used to 'girl talk', before Jennifer escorted Rebecca back to her small apartment. For the first time in a very long time, since before she had run away from home, Rebecca had been having fun rather than focusing purely on survival. A part of her, the part that was still a little girl, enjoyed setting aside the responsibility and having fun, but the other part of her worried that if she let her guard down bad things would happen. As she set about her usual routine of making sure that the apartment was secure, a small voice kept nagging that maybe, just maybe, Madam Rosmerta, Jennifer, would not be a hindrance or threat to Harry and her survival, but might be an asset to help them survive, be it as a touchstone into the world around them, another set of eyes looking out for danger or in some other form.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

A/N: there have been numerous reviews about the economics in this story. The major comment is how expensive it is for a one bedroom apartment in Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade is an exclusive location and the majority of Wizarding Community lives in vastly separated locations around the UK and given Wizarding Transport like Floo then the commute from London to Hogsmeade is a few seconds. The rent for the apartment does include all 'utilities' as they are all handled by spells or runes incorporated in the apartment itself. With Harry's Trust Fund providing 32 Galleons per moth, and Rebecca's job providing 20 per month, it leaves them 12 Galleons a month for expenses.

* * *

Like most First Years, Harry, Su and Padma spent a fair bit of time during the evening of their first week, after they completed their homework, exploring the Castle. Unlike most First Years, at Harry's insistence, they did not begin by exploring the corridors or grounds; instead they began by exploring the Ravenclaw dormitories. It was a habit for making sure his sleeping area was secure and he knew every way in or out, a habit that had been instilled in Harry by Rebecca based on her bitter experience and it had saved their lives more than once.

They had found nothing in Harry and Padma's private room, but they had found a concealed stairwell at the end of the private corridor that led both down to an open space directly under the two Head Boy/Head Girl rooms and up to the roof of the tower, which was a small flat circular space, just large enough for the three of them to lay down on, that was enclosed by four foot high wall. They had also found a hidden door in the Common Room, one that was not overly hard to locate it was just no one had ever bothered to look, that had led to what seemed to have been Rowena Ravenclaw's office and personal armoury.

That discovery had caused quite a stir when Professor Flitwick examined the room. There was a hutched writing desk with a scattering of papers on it, a bookcase along the back wall filled with ancient tomes. A portrait of Rowena, dressed in sleek segmented silver armour with blue highlights with a detailing that implied feathers and holding a long, beautiful spear hung on the right hand wall. The spear itself and the armour were housed in a special rack across from the portrait, with the exception of the diadem that Rowena wore in the portrait. The diminutive Professor made his way directly to the bookcase and gave the occasional squeak in surprise as he came across a particularly rare or interesting tome. Harry, who had followed the Professor in along with Su, made his way to the desk and began to look through the papers, after a look to the portrait for permission which the Founder granted with a gentle nod, which was slightly odd from an armed and armoured woman. Su on the other hand was examining the armour on the rack, admiring the workmanship.

Ten minutes later, as Harry determined that most of the papers related to general administration and a few course outlines which indicated that there were some interesting classes during the Founders time like Archery and Battle Tactics, The Grey Lady floated into the room and 'sat' down on the chair behind the desk and glanced over at the portrait. Harry instantly recognised the look on the ghost's face.

"Professor, I think we should finish this later." Harry said. "Lady Ravenclaw would like some time alone with the memory of her mother."

Professor Flitwick kept looking between Harry and the Grey Lady in shock. It was well known that the Grey Lady and the Bloody Barron, the Slytherin Ghost, were the two oldest ghosts who inhabited the Castle but, as far as he knew, their identities had been lost to time.

"What's your name, young one?" the Grey Lady asked, further shocking the Professor as she had not spoken to anyone in decades and had only spoken occasionally prior to that.

"Harry Potter. My Lady." Harry replied.

"You may call me Helena, young Harry." The ghost said. "And thank you."

The Professor and the two students exited the formerly hidden office and closed the door to leave the ghost in peace.

"How did you know she was the Founder's daughter?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"It was obvious." Harry replied. "I've seen the expressions on Helena's face too many times before. Loss is part of life on the streets, so you quickly learn to read people, especially when they need time with their memories. Also she blames herself for something to do with mother."

"Well, you certainly don't do things by halves do you, Mister Potter. Here less than a week and you have already rewritten history." Flitwick said.

"How so, Professor?" Su asked.

"It is generally accepted that Rowena Ravenclaw had no children to carry on her legacy when she died." The Professor said.

"You are assuming that Helena survived her mother." Harry replied

Harry and Su left the Professor considering Harry's last comment as they joined up with Padma and disappeared into Harry and Padma's private room.

* * *

The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were packing up at the end of their Friday afternoon Transfiguration class.

"Mister Potter, don't forget to report to me tomorrow morning after breakfast." Professor McGonagall said.

"What was that about?" Padma asked as they left the classroom.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall arranged for me to spend the weekends with Mom in Hogsmeade." Harry replied. "I leave Saturdays after breakfast and get back before seven on Monday mornings."

Padma looked at Harry for a second and then stormed off, Su pausing only long enough to ruefully shake her head at Harry before following after her Indian friend. Harry dragged his feet as he returned to the Ravenclaw Dorms. Harry knew enough about girls to know that he had upset Padma with the news that he would be going home for weekends, but to his mind it was obviously not too serious because she had not tried to stick a knife in him or attacked him with a heavy blunt object. When he arrived at the Common Room neither Padma nor Su were anywhere to be seen.

"Little advice." A fifth year boy said. "I would give that friend of yours some time to cool off. She looked mightily ticked off."

"Yeah I got that." Harry replied.

Harry still went into the corridor that lead to his private rooms but he did not enter them, knowing Padma would be in there with Su trying to comfort her, instead he made for the concealed staircase and went down to the empty space below and, drawing one of the knives he always kept about himself, he began to practice the moves Rebecca had drilled into him long ago. Defensive strikes aimed at an opponent's hands designed to make them drop weapons. Fast stabbing motions designed to penetrate vital organs. Sweeping strikes for slicing open veins and arteries in the neck, upper arm or thigh. He got lost in the motion of the moves until his muscles turned to water and he his breath became laboured.

It was almost bed time when he climbed up the stairs and returned to his rooms, to find Padma already in bed, still awake but turned to face the wall on her side of the bed. Harry took a quick shower and climbed into the bed.

"Why did you not tell me earlier?" Padma asked, still not turning to face him.

"Habit I guess." Harry said. "I've seen too many people hurt because they someone knew what they would be doing."

Padma rolled onto her back and looked over at him.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Neither is Su." Padma assured him.

"I've never been able to trust or rely on anyone besides Mom." Harry replied. "I am trying with you, Su and Professor McGonagall, but it is not easy."

"Yet you allow me to sleep with you." Padma said with a quizzical expression.

"We both need that." Harry replied. "Besides I sleep with a knife under my pillow."

"And here I thought we were friends." Padma pouted.

"We are." Harry said, completely seriously. "You're still alive, aren't you?"

With an exaggerated sigh, Padma rolled onto her side and slipped her arms around Harry as they settled into their regular sleeping position.

"How are you going to sleep while I'm away?" Harry asked.

"Su agreed to sleep in here with me." Padma replied.

Harry simply nodded and settled back into her arms before they both dropped off to sleep.

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

A/N: If you ever want an understanding of how Rebecca fells for Harry in this fic, just listen to 'The first time ever I saw you face' by Roberta Flack. I think it not only described Rebecca's maternal feelings for Harry and her devotion to him, but also how he changed her life when she rescued him and she would not have it any other way.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall was sitting at the head table in the Great Hall, watching the students for their first Saturday of the new School Year. It seemed that Harry, she admitted that for propriety's sake she should and did call him Mister Potter but she could not help herself from thinking of him as Harry, had some kind of argument with Miss Patil and Miss Li, or more accurately Miss Patil and Miss Li were angry at Harry for something, seeing as they were both alive and Harry had not approached her about wanting to kill them. There was an empty space between Harry and the two girls, and the girls were occasionally giving Harry dirty looks, but Harry himself seemed excited. Well, excited and vigilant. He was always aware of what was happening around him.

As always, Harry finished his small breakfast quickly and then sat patiently while McGonagall finished her own. When she finished her breakfast, she entertained the thought for a moment of making him wait but decided not to. Standing up she walked over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Mister Potter, please come with me." She said.

"Of course, Professor." Harry replied.

They moved into the courtyard where there was one of the school's carriages, which most students believe pull themselves. Harry however, immediately went to the front of the carriage and began to pet something invisible.

"These things are cool." Harry said, "What are they?"

"They are called Thestrals. For a long time, they were thought to be mythical as they can only be seen by those who have seen death."

"That is awesome." Harry replied. "Do you think Mum will be able to see them?"

"Unfortunately no. Only Magicals can see Thestrals." Minerva explained. "The carriage will take you directly to the Three Broomsticks. I have informed Rebecca and she will be waiting for you there. The carriage will also be waiting for you there at Six-Thirty on Monday Morning."

"Understood Professor." Harry said, before he climbed into the carriage.

The carriage ride into Hogsmeade went quickly. Outside was the beautiful Scottish Highland scenery but Harry was too excited to notice. As the carriage approached the Three Broomsticks Harry saw Rebecca standing outside the pub in a pair of jeans and a jumper, chatting with Madam Rosmerta. By the time Harry got out of the carriage, Rebecca's attention was completely focused on Harry, and for a second Harry saw a slightly sad smile on Madam Rosmerta before Rebecca enveloped him in a hug and by the time she released him Madam Rosmerta was gone.

Wrapping her arm around Harry, Rebecca led him down the street and Harry began to tell her about his Sorting, Ravenclaw House, his classes and his burgeoning friendship with Su Li and Padma Patil. Harry's recitation continued long after they had reached their small apartment, with Rebecca smiling at his enthusiasm. It felt to Rebecca as if a hole in her heart had been filled.

* * *

Su and Padma were sitting in the Ravenclaw Common Room, the sky dark in the windows as evening had fully set in. They were seated in one of the small tables reading ahead for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Li, Patil. Where is Potter?" Harding, the female Seventh Year Prefect, asked. "I have not seen him since breakfast."

Padma's faced became a mask and she closed her book and stood.

"Knock when you're ready." Padma said to Su before heading into the private corridor.

"What's that about." Harding asked.

"Potter is at home for the weekend." Su said. "Some kind of deal that was made with Professor McGonagall before the year started. He 'forgot' to inform Padma until yesterday."

"Why would…?" Harding began.

"Use your head." Su said in exacerbation. "Since he was a baby, Harry and his mum have faced things you can't imagine together, with only each other to rely on."

Su stared at Harding for a moment until she saw the light go on in the older girl's eyes, then Su gathered up her books and made her way into the private hallway, knocking on the door. Padma opening it quickly and Su entered. Padma had already changed into her nightdress and was ready for bed. As was her way, Su stripped down to her underwear in preparation for bed, causing Padma to blush slightly.

"Be glad I am not my mother, she sleeps naked." Su said with an even voice.

Padma struggled with it for moment before she burst out into a giggle. Su and Padma climbed into the bed, Su making sure to twist her hair into a semblance of a ponytail and tucked it under her to ensure that Padma did not choke on it during the night. Padma wrapped her arms around Su's bare stomach and they both slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Harry woke up at five in the morning with Rebecca's arms wrapped around him. The weekend had gone by so quickly. Saturday had been spent simply sitting around the apartment talking. Sunday they had gone for a walk around the village, meeting up briefly with Madam Rosmerta, but most of the day had just been Rebecca and Harry, even having a picnic lunch just outside the village.

Rebecca awoke a few moments after Harry did, snuggling into him almost as if she was afraid that he would disappear on her. They both got up and had a leisurely breakfast before getting ready and making the walk to the Three Broomstick, arriving at around twenty past six, with the carriage already waiting. After a brief pet of the Thestral pulling the carriage, Harry gave Rebecca a final hug and climbed into the carriage. Rebecca watched as the carriage pulled away, waiting until it was out of sight before she turned and entered the pub and making her way to the staff locker room. Changing into the spare uniform she kept in her locker, in case of spills and such, she went out into the main room. There were only two patrons having breakfast, so grabbing a cloth she went to one of the dirty tables, not in her usual sector, and began to clean it with vigour.

"Rebecca, you're shift does not start for another hour." Jennifer Rosmerta said from just behind her.

"I… I have to work." Rebecca said. "It was… it's… I just have to work."

"Ok." Jennifer replied. "If you want to go home an hour early that's fine, if not that's ok too. But if you don't, you'll be getting overtime."

* * *

Harry walked in through the front doors of Hogwarts and began to make his way towards McGonagall's office when he was interrupted.

"Off school premises, were we? Oh dear, we are in trouble." Filch said, making a grab for Harry's arm.

On reflex, Harry grabbed the outstretched arm and in a single swift move, Filch was on the ground with a knife at his throat.

"Mister Potter." McGonagall's voice rang out. "Please release Mister Filch."

Harry let the caretaker up, took a few steps back and making the blade disappear.

"Professor McGonagall, Potter was off school ground and he attacked me." Filch almost whined.

"Mister Filch, Mister Potter has permission to be off school grounds during the weekends. Permission given by myself which I know you were made aware of, and I saw you grab at Mister Potter first. Again, I know you were given strict instructions not to make any threatening motions at Mister Potter." McGonagall scolded. "Mister Potter, please proceed to your dormitory."

Harry simply nodded and made his way towards the grand staircase.

"Mister Filch, report to my office for disciplinary action for your recent action." McGonagall said, before Harry was out of earshot.

TBC…


End file.
